An Ideal Husband is
bound to be a picture that doesn’t appeal to all tastes.For starters, it’s pretty much a solid hour and a half of dialogue, but
not just any dialogue—Oscar Wilde’s deliciously cynical words, barbs, and
observations about society.He lived in a time when rigid British society was painfully
structured and mannered, and every gentlemen and lady subscribed to and played
by the rules.Through his plays,
Wilde was like a smart aleck kid, who may have been told not to come out of his
room, but takes personal pleasure in stepping out of bounds when nobody was
looking.

Though Shakespeare has enjoyed quite a cinematic
renaissance in the last decade, filmed works by Oscar Wilde have been
considerably scarcer.Part of the
reason for this, I think, is that Shakespeare peppered his dialogue with bits of
action, and plenty of room for an enterprising director to move around and mold
the play to fit his own particular vision.In other words, you could conceivably turn Romeo
and Juliet into a modern day story, as was done in the last few years.However, Oscar Wilde’s plays were generally centered on characters and
their interaction with each other.There
were very few duels, murders, or battles to play with in his works.And being that he often targeted British upper class sensibilities, you
could never break a play like An Ideal
Husband out of the time frame from which it was conceived.As it is, there are bound to be a few incidents of head scratching from
modern audiences who can’t quite conceive of the type of world these
characters exist in.

This play is not as funny as Wilde’s masterpiece The
Importance of Being Earnest, but I have determined one thing:English actor Rupert Everett and Oscar Wilde are two artists that were
made for one another, and I personally hope somebody will have the vision to
make a new movie version of Earnest and
cast him in the role of Algernon.Here,
he plays Lord Goring, a wealthy “gentlemen” who exists in good society, but
has just enough cynicism to appear slightly on the outside.It may not seem like such a big deal to modern audiences, but
this kind of daring was exactly what delighted Wilde’s theatre goers in his
day.

The plot is actually a series of smaller conflicts, all of
which are basically much ado about nothing.When an expatriate from Vienna, Mrs. Cheveley (Moore) returns to the
British society that frowned upon her, she does so with a mission.She has evidence of a shady deal conducted by a rising star in the
Parliament, Robert Chiltern (Northam), back when his political career was just
starting.Currently, he is looked
on as a pillar of virtue in politics, a fact that his wife, Gertrude (Blanchett)
takes great pride in.Mrs. Cheveley
wants to blackmail Chiltern into supporting a deal that would mean a great
return on an investment she made, but would be detrimental to English interests.

It turns out Mrs. Cheveley has also enjoyed a past with
Lord Goring, and would seemingly like another chance at a future.Goring is the best friend of Chiltern, and wants to protect him from the
scandal that would surely end his career and his marriage in one blow.After a few playful scenes of mistaken identity and missed opportunities,
he takes her up on a proposal.She believes Chiltern will cave in to her demands.He thinks his friend would
never behave so dishonorably now, no matter what the consequences.So a bargain is struck:if
Chiltern sticks by his principles, she will turn over Goring the condemning
letter.If he buckles in order to
save himself, Goring will have to marry her.

This is the story at the heart of the play, but there is
much more in the offering as well, including a rather cynical romance (of sorts)
between the confirmed and self centered bachelor Goring and Mabel (Driver), the
sister of Gertrude, most of which allows for Wilde to scribble his sarcastic
views toward love, relationships, and things romantic.

One of the best attributes of Oscar Wilde is the way he
draws his characters.He shies away
from the conventions of good people and bad people, and instead, gives all
of those in his plays a bit of an evil streak.Generally not enough to make them bad, per se, but enough to keep them
all slightly self-serving and cynical, and frankly, a bit more realistic.Usually, his characters don’t interact without playing some kind of
mental chess game with each other, and not just in instances of two enemies.Lovers and friends do the same thing to one another.It was a way, in a society that prided itself on manners and minding
one’s own business, to give the audience a delightful little shock by watching
people who were constantly pushing and/or breaking the strict boundaries of said
society.

Screenwriter/director Oliver Parker shows remarkable
understanding of Oscar Wilde, and a willingness to humble himself before the
material.As mentioned, Wilde’s
plays are not quite as cinematic as those of the Bard, and any attempt to make
it more so would detract from the dialogue, which is the key attraction.Parker made his film the correct way…he concentrated on the words and
the characters, created a world of beautiful costumes, sets, and art design for
them to exist in, and kept the movie rather minimal.There is very little in the way of gratuitous camera work or trick
editing to take away from the pleasure of the words.

There is, however, a moment when the chief characters are
all gathered together at a theatre, and if you’ll pay attention, you’ll
notice the play they’re watching is The
Importance of Being Earnest.It’s
the kind of funny, narcissistic moment that I believe Mr. Wilde would have taken
great delight in.

Video
****

Thankfully, Disney saw fit to make this DVD one of their
few and far between anamorphic transfers.Though
I wouldn’t say this disc is as beautiful as Shakespeare in Love (and few are, in my opinion), it still comes
very close.This is an extremely
well crafted period piece, with much attention paid to the detail in the
coloring, lighting, and art design, particularly the way certain items are used
in backgrounds to add extra color or texture.It will definitely increase your appreciation for a good, attentive
transfer.Images are sharp, crisp
and well defined throughout, flesh tones and other colors are rendered
beautifully and naturally, with no evidence of bleeding, grain or compression.

Audio ***

The soundtrack is a 5.1 mix, and is perfectly serviceable,
but given the film is dialogue driven and very sparse with sound effects and
music, unspectacular by nature. I noticed hardly any use of the rear
channels or the subwoofer during the picture, but then again, I could think of
very few places where they might have been used to significant effect. No
real complaints.

Features *

Only a very short production featurette.

Summary:

An Ideal Husband is
a funny, entertaining film for those who are able to take pleasure in Wilde’s
words and characters, but as mentioned, it’s also the kind of film that might
just be lost on those who watch it waiting for something to happen that never
does.For fans of Oscar Wilde or
well crafted, well acted period films in general, this beautiful DVD will make a
great addition to your library.